Observations from KG

• I didn’t know what a UNESCO World Heritage Site was before coming to Europe…
• I’m eager to learn more about European/World history and culture (food, customs, greeting, dances, religions, technology, lifestyle, education, political structure, beer)
• Thrift stores are the way to go in Europe
• I’m kind of a lazy traveler. I usually don’t get my day started til at least 11am (I usually skype with Jenny in the mornings and plan out my day then get moving)
• I feel like I’m one of the few tourists without a freakin huge Nikon camera around their neck
• Every time Jenny calls me on my cell phone I’m either at a bar or walking to a bar. Haha
• I busted out some Xmas tunes on 11/8/11 (oh man, 11/11/11 is coming up! I need to do something cool at 11:11am and pm on that day. Oh, and all my wishes better come true)
• I’m still frustrated by the European time and date system (Ex. 17:30 on 9.11.11 SHOULD BE 5:30pm on 11/9/11)
• I’ve started to think about ending my retirement. I know, sad right??? But as much as I love traveling (and I do), I think I’m ready to go back to work. I’m excited about it actually. I like being challenged in an intellectually stimulating way and having more structure to my days
• Kazuntite seems to be a universal word
• Mercedes garbage trucks exist.
• France has the worst “attention” sound at the train stations. It drove me crazy. “Bah, Bah, Daaa, Dah”
• I didn’t see a mime in Paris! Wtf?!
• Ugg boots are popular in Europe too….. sad.
• Vespas were all over the place in France
• Kebab shops are everywhere. I’ve said this before. But it needs to be said again because I eat Doner Kebabs all the time. Mmmmmm…..
• I think I enjoy hosting couchsurfers more than couchsurfing at other people’s places (I’m a pretty involved host I think, it’s more comfortable/relaxed, and I enjoy being in control of the fun stuff we do)
• People from Great Britain sound hilarious (I can’t understand them half the time, old men from England sound like they’re in a James Bond movie, and the Irish accent is just awesome)
• I hate carrying my wallet in my front pocket, but I’m still paranoid (not really) that someone is going to jack it if it’s in my back pocket
• After hating on guys wearing scarves this entire trip, I finally gave in and wore a scarf for the first time in Prague (I haven’t bought one yet. Just borrowed one from a couchsurfer)
• I’m obsessed with Nutella! I can’t believe I’ve never bought it before.
• Interesting quote I read somewhere: What we think of ourselves and what we really are rarely have much in common
• McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, and KFC are the most popular American fast food companies in Europe (in that order)
• Europeans eat a lot of cheese (it’s made my stomach upset on multiple occasions)
• France had some great wine
• I’m gonna look into graduate school in Europe because it’s quite cheap compared to in America, and could lead to a potential job in Europe which would be cool
• Why are there Casino’s everywhere???
• Doing laundry while traveling sucks! Especially since most people line dry their clothes instead of using a dryer, so I have to do laundry 2 days in advance so my stuff isn’t wet.
• Things always look closer on google maps…
• I’d rather get lost for 20 min. walking around than ask someone for directions (I usually find something interesting this way. Plus, I hate approaching foreigners and speaking English. It just feels weird every time. Then again, boldness pays off… eh.
• I’ve lost so many plastic water bottles on this trip. I have no idea how they keep disappearing.
• I’ve taken so many pictures of people with their iPhone. Come on people! Get a real camera if you’re gonna be traveling around Europe. Jeez!
• In bike friendly cities and countries like Belgium/The Netherlands, it looks like the streets are littered with bikes because there are so many. It’s not very pretty in my eyes.
• I hate that it could take me ~20 minutes to find a place I can use the restroom without buying a meal. Seriously, this makes Europe automatically 10x less cool than America. Oh, and free water doesn’t exist in Europe yet either. Ugh.
• It took me a month into my trip to discover there are lockers at train stations I could use to put my pack in for the day while I walk around. A couple days my shoulders/neck hurt so bad from lugging around my heavy pack. Nice Kyle…
• McDonalds and Starbucks have free internet, which is something hard to come by in Europe I tell you.
• Oh man, people/tourists look so stupid when taking pictures. I swear, they’re taking pictures of every random thing they see, and they don’t seem to follow any sort of picture taking logic from what I can tell. And the way people pose half the time is just embarrassing.
• I hate big touristy cities…. hmmmm
• Prague is cool because it’s one of the few cities I’ve been to so far that isn’t flat. I hate the flatness.
• I haven’t lost anything yet which is pretty sweet (unless you count the plastic water bottles I keep losing)
• I blog/read/sleep/play angry birds on train rides
• I think I’d rather spend 3 months relaxing on a beach in Hawaii or in Thailand than travel around Europe walking around cities all the time. But, while I’m here, I’m gonna make the most of it.
• I heard from a German guy (not gonna say who…) that sometimes he pretends to be American to try to get with German girls. Hahahaha
• I’m spending more money than I had hoped despite not really doing all that much. I should be fine tho.
• Spending money in countries not on the Euro has been kind of fun, because I’m not “really” sure how much things really costs
• The leaves are almost gone on the trees. L I need to head south before it gets any colder/grey too.
• Beer Rankings: Belgium > Czech Republic > Germany > Everywhere else
• The food diversity I’ve had has been one of my favorite parts of the trip so far
• I really, Really, REALLY miss my girlfriend Jenny. I love her so much and being away from her for ~3 months is “The Worst.” Things are going great tho, and it won’t be long before I get to hold her again. J
• A fortune I got (from a fortune cookie): Seen with the eyes of love everything gets a new meaning
• I want to brew beer when I get back to the states (Uncle bob???)
• I want to incorporate more European/Worldwide traditions/customs into my daily life (food, music, education, lifestyle, clothing, beer, decorations, holidays)
• I occasionally think of new business ideas based on what I’ve observed on my travels. Random ideas of mine that probably exist already or just aren’t very good include: 1. iPhone travel app/company that uses GPS to guide people on city walking tours 2. Used bookstore inventory/online system 3. Travel postcard/poster website based on your travel experiences 4. European restaurant in America that specializes in making select ethnic dishes from various countries in Europe 5. Website for cool outdoors things to do in Europe 5. Cell phone company that ships international phones that can be used in Europe to Americans 6. Tourist information App (has the maps and information from all the official Information booths in each city) 7. A digital guidebook that doesn’t suck, and doesn’t focus primarily on museums and expensive hotels (maybe incorporate couchsurfers ideas somehow)